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Java
is the first main antagonist in the Contra series. He was introduced in 1987 as the final boss of the arcade version of Contra. He belongs to the Red Falcon organization, being its highest-ranking member in that game and the leader in command of the first alien invasion attempt on Earth. He is actually identified as two separate entities: his head and upper body are known as "Emperor Demon Dragon God Java", while his heart is known as "Gomeramos King". Background Java is depicted as an enormous biomass that in 2633 invaded planet Earth. He was the commander of the intergalactic army known as Red Falcon in that campaign, being its highest-ranking member. However, the real purpose of the invasion was not to conquer the planet, but to retrieve an artifact of great power that had been stolen from a shrine belonging to them in Jupiter by the humans. He and his army came to Earth inside a giant meteorite that crashed near the Galuga Archipelago. They took control of the island and brainwashed the local military forces in order to do their bidding. The Federation sent two commandos from the "Contra" task force named Bill Rizer and Lance Bean to infiltrate and stop the invading forces. Both soldiers alone successfully managed to neutralize the controlled local army and the aliens, ultimately breaking into their nest, which actually happened to be a gigantic biomass that conformed Java's own body. After successfully defeating Java's upper body, they delved further into the biomass until coming face to face with his still living heart, which after a ferocious battle was also destroyed. Other invasion attempts commanded by other alien leaders followed after this defeat, with Java (or other creatures of the same species) included in their ranks. Appearance In the original Contra, the game's final stage can be considered to be the entire biomass alien entity that is Java, with the hero first battling his head and then, at the stage's conclusion, his heart. Throughout the series, Java is usually depicted as a large worm or dragon-like alien head form. He vomits an endless supply of Bundles - flying and persistent alien creatures that attack the player. The player is obstructed by a mount of immovable alien boulders and cannot progress to the next corridor until Java is destroyed. In most cases, after the head has been destroyed, Java materializes one last time as a giant heart the player needs to battle against. This form is characterized as covering up an entire wall, pulsating rapidly as it provides life across the rest of the biomass. This form usually has a set of alien eggs surrounding it on both the floor and ceiling as defense against potential attacks. These eggs will release an unrelenting hoard of spider-like creatures. Contra: Hard Corps continued to reimagine Java's appearance through dramatic alterations, this time being much more mobile and somewhat resembling either a fish or a frog, thus having visible eyes for the first time. He also doesn't appear as a main antagonist for the first time in a game, and just as an optional boss near the end of one of the many paths the player can take. In later entries of the series, Java only makes appearance in the form of a giant heart, with the exception of Contra: Shattered Soldier, where he appears as an eel-like alien that spends most of its time eating shredded meat, completely independent of a heart. Regional differences Given that character names and storylines are often changed or altered when a video game is released between different countries, continuity differences may often occur. The name "Red Falcon" is heavily affected by this; because the Japanese market originally envisioned Red Falcon only as an alien/terrorist organization and not an actual alien leader, there is no legitimacy on what Red Falcon's true appearance is meant to be in the West. Due to liberties taken when the first games were localized in North America, both Java and Gomeramos King —the two creatures the player faces at the end of Contra— were generally considered to be components of "Red Falcon"'s physical form, thus making this name refer to both the army and also its leader. However, in the original Japanese storyline, those creatures, already being given names of their own (which never made it to North America) only make up the leaders of the Red Falcon army. Furthermore, the final boss of Super Contra, Gava (known in North America as Jagger Froid), who is stated to be the real leader of the alien army, is also commonly confused with the name "Red Falcon". All this brought a major inconsistency in the North American localization of Contra III: The Alien Wars, when Java, until then known as "Red Falcon", made a reappearance in the game's final stage, and perhaps as a consequence he was renamed as "Para-Slug". However, in Japan all the names remain consistent throughout the series. Appearances *''Contra'' — Appears as a giant dragon or chestbuster-like alien head. *''Contra III: The Alien Wars'' — Appears as a giant dragon-like alien head (renamed Para-Slug). *''Contra: Hard Corps'' — Appears as a giant fish/frog-like alien head. *''Contra: Shattered Soldier'' — Appears as a fish-like alien head. *''Contra: Evolution'' — Appears as a giant dragon or chestbuster-like alien head. Reception IGN ranked Red Falcon 76th being one of the Top 100 Villains due to his persisting resurrections.http://www.listal.com/list/top-100-videogame-villains Notes *In the Game Boy port, Contra: The Alien Wars, three Javas are fought in the final stage; the additional two make up for other missing minibosses from the original version of that level, Gomeramos King and the Metal Alien. Gallery Artworks Java - 04.jpg|'Java' in the Contra cover artwork. Java - 03.jpg|'Javas artwork from the Japanese ''Contra instruction booklet. Screenshots Java - 09.png|''Contra'' (arcade) Java - 08.png|''Contra'' (MSX2) Java - 01.png|''Contra III: The Alien Wars'' Java - 07.png|''Contra: Hard Corps'' Java - 05.png|''Contra: The Alien Wars'' Java Contra Shattered Soldier.png|''Contra: Shattered Soldier'' Java and Bundle Contra Evolution.png|''Contra: Evolution'' return_java.png|''Contra: Return'' Trivia *Java's general physical appearance appears to be inspired by the chestbuster from the Alien franchise. **In Contra III: The Alien Wars, the alien head form is slightly altered through the addition of tiny arms. As a result, his appearance loses some resemblance to the iconic film monster. *Despite being referred to as a male, Java is capable of giving birth, although this is done by vomiting his offspring out into the world. Even though he is called "dragon" in its original Japanese name, his overall shape (and subsequent renaming in Contra III as "Para-Slug") may suggest his physiology is similar to that of a gastropod, with hermaphrodite characteristics. See also *Black Viper *Bundle *Gava *Gomeramos King *Red Falcon References Category:Aliens Category:Antagonists Category:Enemies Category:Male characters Category:Contra bosses Category:Evolution bosses Category:Hard Corps bosses Category:Shattered Soldier bosses Category:The Alien Wars bosses Category:The Alien Wars EX bosses